Chopped Liver

Our Friday night chopped liver was not just the start of another memorable meal but was also part of the Sabbath celebration. My late mother gave the preparation as much importance or respect as the main course. She used a few saved and koshered chicken livers, carefully extended with a mound of sweet fried onions, cooked gently with a little schmaltz and a handful of homemade gribenes, and hard-boiled eggs. She'd grind it all together in an old-fashioned grinder, clamped to the Formica tabletop, apart from one egg that was left to be grated carefully over the served mounds of liver—yolk and white separate. Finally the mixture was combined and, on extra-special occasions,
moistened with a little Kiddush wine already sitting next to the polished candles. The chopped liver was then served in generous mounds on small glass plates from Woolworths and decorated with the egg and circles of pickled cucumber.

Preparation

Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, drain, and set aside to cool. In a large frying pan,
gently cook the onions in the oil (or schmaltz) until soft and golden. Increase the heat,
add the livers, and stir for a few seconds so that they absorb the flavor of the onion.
Either pour the mixture into a food processor and process to a coarse or smooth paste
with the gribenes (if using), or pass the mixture through an old-fashioned grinder. Scoop
into a bowl. Grate the eggs on the coarse side of a grater and add to the bowl, reserving
a little of the grated egg for the garnish. Stir in the parsley and fold in gently. Moisten
the mixture with some wine, brandy, or chicken stock, and season to taste with salt and
pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until needed. Serve in scoops on individual
plates topped with a little grated egg and paprika for color, and generous pieces of fresh
Friday-night challah.

To make gribenes and schmaltz
Remove the spare fat from a raw chicken and place in a pan. (There is usually a lump
of fat around the neck, in an older bird at least.) Add 1 cup (8 oz) dairy-free margarine,
1 teaspoon salt, and 1 large onion (with the skin left on to enhance the golden color).
Remove the skin from the chicken, cut into smallish pieces, and add to the pan. Set over
very low heat and cook for 1 1/2-2 hours until all of the fat has been rendered gently out
of the chicken skin. Remove the skin from the pan and drain on paper towels to form
gribenes or crackling. Pour the fat (schmaltz) into a heavy-duty glass dish and store in
the fridge until needed*. As the fat cools, a rich jelly will collect at the bottom of the dish.
This jelly forms a delicious base for soup or sauces.

* The fat (schmaltz) will keep for up to 6 weeks in the fridge. Store the gribenes in
the fridge.